P O B O X 6 7 · I R E L A N D , I N 4 7 5 4 5 - 0 0 6 7 P H O N E : ( 8 1 2 ) 4 8 2 - 7 0 4 1 FA X : ( 8 1 2 ) 4 8 2 - 3 6 9 9

Parish Office Hours: Monday - Friday 8:00am to 4:00pm Website: http://stmary.irelandindiana.com

St Mary Church - 812-482-7041

Rev. Gary Kaiser, Pastor…….gkaiser@evdio.org Rev. Simon Natha, Associate Pastor snatha@evdio.org Deacon John Huether……...jhuether@evdio.org Dianne Gogel, Secretary, Ext. 21 dgogel@evdio.org Sherri Hartley, Secretary, Ext. 22 chartley@evdio.org Stan Heim, Property Manager, Ext. 36 sheim@evdio.org Martha Schmitt, PCL, Ext. 45 mjschmitt@evdio.org Ann Nagy, Music Director, Ext 25 anagy@evdio.org Charlene Sermersheim, Music…..…812-482-7837 Annette Witte, Cleaning …………..…812-630-7870

Parish Contacts

Bereavement Meals, Sherri Hartley……………….. ……………………………………………….…..812-482-7041 Church Decorations, Janet Schitter ………………………………………………......812-482-3500 Finance Council, Audrey Wehr….…812-639-3393 Ireland K of C, Grand Knight, Chris Weisman ……………………………..……………...….…812-630-6390 Ireland K of C Building Rental - Allen Reckelhoff …………………….…………….……………….812-482-4700 Parish Nursing, Deb Brescher……...812-639-1882 Parish Council, Pat Stemle………..…812-631-1709 Prayer Line, Bev Himsel……………...812-639-1384 St Anne’s Society, President, Helen Vonderheide ………………………………………...………..812-309-8761 Director of St John Bosco Youth Ministry - Angie Greulich…………………………….812-481-2442 812-639-4227

Precious Blood Church - 812-482-4461

Rev. Gary Kaiser, Pastor Office…Ext. 128……….Rectory…...Ext. 650 Rev. Simon Natha, Associate Pastor Office...Ext. 137……...Rectory…..Ext 650

St. Mary’s Mission Statement: St. Mary Church is a community of faith united in Eucharist and committed to seeking God through prayer; sharing our gifts of time, talent and treasure; providing formation and education for children and adults; responding to the needs of people by sharing our faith and resources. We are dedicated to living and proclaiming the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

St. Mary Church

Solemnity of Mary, The Holy Mother of God

January 1, 2017

Readings for the Week of January 1, 2017

Sunday: Nm 6:22-27/Ps 67/Gal 4:4-7/Lk 2:16-21 Monday: 1 Jn 2:22-28/Ps 98/Jn 1:19-28 Tuesday: 1 Jn 2:29--3:6/Ps 98/Jn 1:29-34 Wednesday: 1 Jn 3:7-10/Ps 98/Jn 1:35-42 Thursday: 1 Jn 3:11-21/Ps 100/Jn 1:43-51 Friday: 1 Jn 5:5-13/Ps 147/Mk 1:7-11 or Lk 3:23-28 or 3:23, 31-34, 36, 38 Saturday: 1 Jn 5:14-21/Ps 149/Jn 2:1-11 Next Sunday: Is 60:1-6/Ps 72/Eph 3:2-3a, 5-6/Mt 2:1-12

St. Mary Church Mass Schedule Saturday 5:30pm Sunday 7:00am & 9:15am

Monday, Thursday and Friday at 7:30am Wednesday at 6:00pm Saturday at 8:00am

Sacrament of Reconciliation at St. Mary Church Saturday 4:30-5:20pm; 1/2 hour before weekday Masses

Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament 1/2 hour before weekday Masses

Anointing of the Sick: Notify the parish office if there is a need for Father Gary or Father Simon to administer Anointing of the Sick.

Sacrament of Baptism: The joy of having children is fully realized in their Baptism within the faith community. Call the Parish Office regarding Baptism appointments. First time parents, please stop by and pick up a baptism video.

Sacrament of Marriage: Parishioners who wish to be married at St. Mary Church are asked to contact the parish office six months prior to setting a date. This will provide time for prayer, preparation and paperwork.

Homebound Parishioners: Communion calls are made on Monday mornings to parishioners’ homes. Call the parish office if you would like a visit from our Eucharistic Minister.

Gift Bearers: If you would like to carry up the gifts during Mass, please let the Ushers know.

Mass Intentions

New Year’s Eve Sat-Dec 31 5:30 pm Lee Goeppner & Adam Seger

New Year’s Day Sun-Jan 1 7:00 am Arthur Mathies 9:15 am Members of St. Mary Parish

Mon-Jan 2 7:30 am Rick Linette Wed-Jan 4 6:00 pm Jeremy & Jason Bachman

Thurs-Jan 5 7:30 am Anna Mae Dittelberger Fri-Jan 6 7:30 am Caroline Mehringer Sat-Jan 7 8:00 am Joseph & Magdelena Schitter Sat-Jan 7 5:30 pm Members of St. Mary Parish Sun-Jan 8 7:00 am Esther Weidenbenner 9:15 am Charles Rinderknecht

January Area Events

9: Jasper Circle #140 Daughters of Isabella will meet in Room 301 at

the St. Joseph Parish Center at 7:00pm. All Catholic Women are in-

vited to join - contact Regent Kathy Schneider for more information.

2017 dues are now due. A-K send their $15 check stamped self ad-

dressed envelope to Betty Mehringer, 1744 W Ackerman Rd, Jasper;

L-Z send to Chris Schuetter, 2452 N Mill Street, Jasper. The annual

card party will be March 2 at the Jasper Moose Lodge

17: Tap Into Theology at the Jasper K of C.

28: The HOOT at the KlubHaus 61. Doors open at 5:30pm with din-

ner at 6:30pm. Tickets will go on sale Wednesday, January 4. If

you have auction items you would like to donate please contact Krista

Seger 812-631-8460 krista.seger@gmail.com or Audrey Seger 312-

543-8665 audrey.seger@gmail.com.

Church Support

Budgeted Weekly Operating Costs: $13,500.00 Collection for the weekend of December 17 & 18

Weekend Collection……………...……….………………….$ 7,308.01 Average ACH weekly deposit for December…..…..$ 4,815.25 Children’s Collection…………………………………………..$ 3.00 Total Weekend Collection…………………………………..$ 12,126.26 Short...........………………………………………………….…….$ (1,373.74)

Community Food Bank/Meal Collection……………..$ 1,033.00 Flower/Decorations Collection……………………………$ 3,363.00

Thank You!!!!!!

Please use your envelope if you are going to one of the area churches. They are coming back to our parish. Another way to make sure your tithing is coming to St. Mary is to go electronic. This can be by elec-tronic check payment from your bank or by ACH through the parish office. This is an easy way to make your donations on a recurring basis and not have to worry about your tithing envelopes. Your sup-port is greatly appreciated.

Precious Blood Church - Mass Schedule

Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday & Friday at 8:00am

Saturday - 4:00pm

Sunday - 8:00am & 10:30am

www.preciousbloodjasperin.com

2016 Irish Sweepstake Winners for December 25

Congratulations to our two $250.00 Christmas winners,

Ken & Marilyn Schnaus and Peggy Reising,

and our $100.00 winner, Nancy Whitson

St. Mary Fundraiser - Staples will pay St. Mary $2 per toner

cartridge for every cartridge that we bring back to Staples - up to

20 per month. Does not matter the size or brand name - drop

them off at the parish office.

“Thank You” to all our advertisers who make our bulletin possible.

We received a check for over $3,300.00 from our bulletin company.

This money will help with day to day expenses. Each week, the bulle-

tins are printed, folded and shipped to St Mary Parish at no charge.

Without our advertisers, this would not be possible. Please support

these advertisers when you can and thank them for advertising in our

bulletin.

St. John Bosco Catholic Youth Ministry is a collaborative effort

between Holy Family Parish, Precious Blood Parish, St. Joseph

Parish and St. Mary Parish and is for middle and high school

teens. We are located at 214 West 13th Street in Jasper. Please

use the link below for details. Contact Angie Greulich at ag-

reulich@evdio.org or call 812-639-4227/812-481-2442 if you

have any questions.

https://saintjohnboscoyouthministry.wordpress.com/

Upcoming Bosco Events:

High School Youth Nights are every Sunday from 6:00-8:00pm

(Not on Christmas or New Year’s weekend).

Every last Tuesday of the month we go to Azura for a bagel

breakfast and prayer before school. All High school students are

welcome.

#FeedMeWednesdays at the Bosco House. Reminder - We serve

dinner for high school from 5:30-6:30pm on Wednesdays.

Spots are filling up for Catholic Heart Work Camp 2017! We

are heading to Knoxville, TN June 4-10. $100 deposit to hold

your spot. Register asap.

High School Sophomores/Juniors/Seniors are invited to go to One

Bread, One Cup July 6-10 at St. Meinrad. We have vey limited

spots. This is a liturgical conference that empowers youth who

are interested in the Mass to learn more about it and grow in their

own participation of it. $100 deposit reserves your spot.

January 8: Youth Night at Precious Blood for the Teen/Family

Mass with supper and fun following.

January 29: Middle School Event - High School will be leaders!

Engaged Encounter is a weekend experience with other engaged cou-

ples that affords time alone together to plan for sacramental marriage.

Trained facilitators will lead the program on February 11 and 12,

April 29 and 30 or September 17 and 18 at the Sarto Retreat Center.

For marriage preparation resources, more information, or to register,

call Catholic Charities at 812-423-5456 or visit www.charitiesevv.org/

engaged-encounter.html. Father Gary encourages all engaged cou-

ples to attend one of these weekends before getting married.

I would like to wish all of you a Happy , healthy and holy New Year. As we begin the new year, we start with the Blessed Mother. We cele-

brate the Solemnity of Mary Mother of God. This is a Holy day of obligation. The solemnity honors the divine motherhood of the Blessed

Virgin Mary, the God-Bearer, Mother of our Lord and God, Jesus Christ. It is celebrated on January 1st, one week after Christmas.

In the 4th and 5th centuries, debates about the nature of Christ raged in the Church. The debate was about the relationship of Christ's divine and

human natures. At the center of this debate was a title of Mary. Since at least the 3rd century, Christians had referred to Mary as theotokos,

meaning "God-bearer."

The first documented usage of the term is in the writings of Origen of Alexandria in AD 230. Related to theotokos, Mary was called the Mother

of God. Referring to Mary this way was popular in Christian piety, but the patriarch of Constantinople from 428-431, Nestorius, objected. He

suggested that Mary was only the mother of Jesus' human nature, but not his divine nature. Nestorius' ideas (or at least how others perceived his

arguments) were condemned at the Council of Ephesus in AD 431, and again at the Council of Chalcedon in AD 451.

The Church decided that Christ was fully God and fully human, and these natures were united in one divine person, Jesus Christ. Thus Mary

could be called "mother of God" since she gave birth to Jesus who was fully divine as well as human. Since this time, Mary has been frequently

honored as the "mother of God" by Catholics, Orthodox, and many Protestants.

A prayer for our Blessed Mother on this day:

Rejoice Mary, Mother of God, Virgin, full of grace, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women and blessed is the Fruit of thy womb,

for thou hast borne the Savior of our souls. Meet it is in truth, to glorify thee, O Birth-giver of God, ever blessed, and all undefiled, the Mother

of our God. More honorable than the Cherubim, and beyond compare more glorious than the Seraphim, thou who without stain didst bear God

the Word, true Birth-giver of God, we magnify thee. Father Gary Kaiser

The Ireland Volunteer Fire Department is looking for volunteers to join the department. Volunteers must be between the ages of 21 and 35 and be willing to become a First Responder. For more information call Scott Schnell at 812-631-8111 or talk to any Ireland Volunteer Fireman.

The St Mary Religious Ed Department is

needing your Christmas Cards. The picture part

(front) will be used to cover the shoeboxes next

Fall for “Operation Shoe Box”. This is a nice

way to decorate these boxes and recycle at the

same time. Drop them off at the parish office.

Happy Birthday to the following parishioners who will be

celebrating their 80+ birthdays in the month of January:

Verena Schnaus, Jan 6; Sue Schwenk, Jan 12; Wilfred Gress,

Jan 13; Tom Kellams, Jan 18; Eleanor Schmitt, Jan 18;

Richard Schmitt, Jan 19; Betty Seifert, Jan 22; Joe Jerger, Jan 26;

and Morris Weidenbenner, Jan 28. May God bless you on your

special day. Congratulations!

This Week’s Parish Events

Sunday [01/01]: Happy New Year! May you have a

Blessed 2017. Monday [01/02]:

Mass will be celebrated at 7:30am Parish Office will be closed.

Quilting at 5:00pm in the Rectory Basement. Servants of the Holy Spirit at 7:00pm in the Library.

Ireland K of C 20/20 Draw at 8:00pm.

Tuesday [01/03]:

Choir Rehearsal Practice at 6:30pm. New members are always welcome.

Wednesday [01/04]: Rosary at 11:30am in the church. All are welcome.

Quilting noon to 4:00pm in the rectory basement. Mass will be celebrated at 6:00pm.

St Anne’s Sewing Room opens at 6:00pm in the Rectory basement. Religion Classes: Middle school students 6:00-7:00pm

and High School students 7:15-8:15am.

Thursday [01/05]:

Mass will be celebrated at 7:30am.

Friday [01/06]: Mass will be celebrated at 7:30am. Saturday [01/07] :

Rosary at 7:30am. Mass will be celebrated at 8:00am.

January 21 & 22: St. Meinrad Weekend here at our parish. February 6: St. Anne Meeting February 18-20: TEC here at St. Mary. http://www.switec.org/ February 26: St. Mary Confirmation March 23: Rogation Mass here at St. Mary at 6:30pm. April 6: St. Anne/Red Cross Blood Drive 1:00-6:00pm. April 29 & 30: St. Mary 1st Communion July 22-24: TEC here at St. Mary. September 10: St. Mary Church Picnic

Upcoming Parish Events

Vocation Chalice - A different family each week takes

home the Vocation Chalice and a binder containing pray-

ers and vocation stories of priests, religious, deacons and

seminarians to pray for vocations. Call Martha at 812-482-7041,

ext 45 for more info or to sign up.

December 31 & January 1: Jay and Ann Terwiske and family

January 7 & 8: Aline Brescher .

Thank you to everyone who has participated in the traveling voca-

tion chalice. Our diocese is in need of some good young men to be-

come priests. We have a great group of seminarians as well as cur-

rent priests who need our prayers and support. More volunteers are

needed. Please consider praying for our religious. Great way for

you and your family to pray daily.

Congratulations to our bench and basket winners:

Year of Mercy Bench: Patty Nordhoff

Christmas Basket: Tom Schmitt

Baking Basket: Louise Gutgsell

Game Basket: Ruth Goeppner

Thanks to all that bought tickets. Proceeds from the baskets went

into the church building fund.

Year of Mercy Project

Last Spring, our parish was given a grant for $500 from the Dio-

cese of Evansville. This grant was given to us with the intent that

it would be used as a teaching lesson for any age group in our

parish. We chose to give each of the Confirmation kids $15.

With that $15 and their God given talents, they were challenged

to increase the money and to chose 2 organizations they would

donate their profits to. In the last 9 months, they have increased

the $500 grant into a $1840 by selling Easter eggs, having a bake

sale, holding a bench raffle, selling sweet corn, making and sell-

ing head bands, designing and selling string art pictures and mak-

ing and selling Christmas ornaments. The two organizations the

kids chose to donate to are the Habitat House for Humanity and

the Humane Society. Each organization will not only receive a

check, but also a lunch will be prepared for a group of volunteers

who will be working on the upcoming habitat house on a Satur-

day this Spring and homemade dog treats will be made and the

kids themselves will visit the Humane Society to present the

check along with treats and some play time with the animals.

I want to thank all of our Confirmation youth for an outstanding

job and also thank all of you that supported this project in any

way. Martha & Connie

Liturgical Ministers for January 7 & 8

Servers: 5:30 pm Trace Weidenbenner - Reece Lampert 7:00 am Jacob Dudenhoeffer - Kaleb Renner 9:15 am Claire Witte - Brenna Hildenbrand

Extraordinary Ministers: 5:30 pm Adam Schmitt - Deb Brescher - Diane Gress Betty Gehlhausen - Jill Weidenbenner 7:00 am Lauren Emerson - Mary Werner - Susan Oeding Helen Vonderheide - Kathy Burton 9:15 am Ronald James - Sharon James - Bev Himsel Tammy Sermersheim - Laura Otto

Lectors: 5:30 pm Brian Fleck 7:00 am Pat Stemle 9:15 am Katie Schuck

Lectors Website: http://lectorsproclaim.org (Year A)

Ushers: 5:30 pm Alex & Missy Rodriguez 7:00 am Doug Scherle - Larry Vollmer 9:15 am Danny Brescher - Pat Brescher

Sunday School: 9:15 am Natalie Underwood

Thank You!! This bulletin is furnished to the Parish without charge. The advertisements that appear completely defray all publishing costs with which the church would otherwise be burdened. Please patronize these sponsors as a “thank you” for their kind generosity.

Tickets for Holy Trinity Catholic School’s

the Hoot Go on sale Wednesday, January 4 from 7:00-9:00am

in the St. Joseph Parish Center

The Hoot will be held on January 28 at KlubHaus 61 in Jasper.

Doors open at 5:30pm, dinner at 6:30pm

Tickets will be sold on first come first served basis

Tickets are $30 each. All tickets must be paid for by cash or

check at time of purchase. Checks can be made payable to Holy

Trinity Catholic School

The Hoot will have tables of 14 and 16. A maximum of 16 tickets

may be purchased by one individual

The Hoot is an all adult evening of food, fun and fellowship. The

evening includes dinner, music, cash bar and lively auctions for one-

of-a-kind and priceless items. All proceeds benefit Holy Trinity

Catholic School. For updates, visit The Hoot for Holy Trinity Cath-

olic School on Facebook.

We look forward to seeing you at the Hoot!

Open hour in the Divine Providence Eucharistic Adoration Chapel

1st & 3rd Monday 1:00am - 2:00am

(If you would like just one of these Monday’s, please call or email)

1st & 5th Wednesday 4:00am - 5:00am

(Co-Adorers are needed for these hours)

If you can fill this time slot, contact 812-630-8382 or

dp@adorationmanager.com. Please spend an hour with Jesus.

Pope Francis December Intentions

Universal Intention - End to Child-Soldiers: That the scandal of

child-soldiers may be eliminated the world over

Evangelization Intention - Europe: That the peoples of Europe may

rediscover the beauty, goodness, and truth of the Gospel which gives

joy and hope to life.